In recent years, mobile wireless communications have become increasingly popular. Initial implementations of mobile wireless communications, for example in the form of cellular telephone networks, supported circuit switched voice communication services. The carriers developed short message service (SMS) technology to provide text and/or e-mail communications via the wireless communication networks. As the wireless communication networks have evolved to provide greater bandwidth and packet based services, the industry has developed a variety of data services, such as email, web browsing, as well as a variety of services using multimedia message service (MMS) technology. Further, mobile devices have evolved to include an ever increasing number of features, including WiFi and/or cellular data network based internet access, global positioning system (GPS) capability, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, one or more cameras, etc. The advanced features support an ever increasing range of uses of the mobile devices, such as web browsing, email communication, gaming, etc. As the features and capabilities of mobile devices are steadily increasing, mobile devices are rapidly becoming the central computer and communication device for many. The compact form factor of mobile devices allows them to be used almost anytime and anywhere.
Such flexibility and convenience afforded to mobile device users does not come without problems. For example, a study conducted in 2008 by Ohio State University found that more than 1,000 pedestrians visited emergency rooms in that year alone—because they were distracted and fell, tripped, or ran into something while using a mobile device to talk or text. In March of 2012 a woman in Michigan, who was texting as she walked along a pier, was so distracted that she tripped and fell backward into Lake Michigan. In another incident, a 2011 video showing a woman texting and falling into a Pennsylvania shopping mall fountain went viral. Indeed, the news is replete with incidents where a pedestrian is seriously hurt or even killed due to distractions from their mobile device.
Hence, a need exists for an enhanced interaction between a user and a mobile device such that the mobile device provides advance warnings with respect to impending dangers.